It was more than five years ago that I started working for http://www.refer-it.com/, the first affiliate program directory. Back then, it was considered the key place to go in search of affiliate programs to join.

I had high hopes for the directory, and it was becoming a monster resource for a while. But as the folks behind it left for other opportunities, it sort of became a derelict property.

Oh, it’s still there, and people are still using it, but it isn’t being run the way it used to. It’s not really being run much at all.

Affiliates have noticed this and over time, affiliates found other resources to shop for affiliate programs. According to responses from affiliates for the AffStat 2004 Report, affiliates are finding out about affiliate programs largely by the affiliate manager being active on message boards, the affiliate manager emailing, calling, or direct mailing them, or via Google.

They are still using affiliate directories, but in lesser numbers. I aim to change that with AffiliateTip.com.

This new breed will be proactively managed, and as Refer-it used to do, AffiliateTip.com will discriminate and only list programs of a certain caliber. After all, it’s a resource for affiliates, and they don’t want to have to navigate through a bunch of garbage.

One key element with AffiliateTip.com is that affiliate managers have to include their direct email address in their listing, so affiliates can reach out and ask questions. If that’s a problem for an affiliate manager, there is a simple solution – they won’t be in the directory.

One of my intentions is to feature programs that are actively managed by affiliate managers that actually want to hear from affiliates. Deadbeats need not apply.

Refer-it.com, the first affiliate program directory, publishes a top ten affiliate program list each month. ClubMom has been the top rated affiliate program for back to back months (May and June 2004

According to Refer-it, “The Top Ten programs are calculated by the absolute number of clickthroughs each program received on Refer-it.com.” This means that the top affiliate programs are those which tend to draw the most interest from affiliates who visit the Refer-it directory

I would attribute the ascent of the ClubMom program to the fact that ClubMom recently increased the affiliate commissions significantly, as because ClubMom received lots of national press around Mother’s Day.

Affiliates can apply to the ClubMom affiliate program at http://www.clubmomaffiliates.com/

Benjamin Edelman, a Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Economics at Harvard University and a student at the Harvard Law School, has done extensive research into 180solutions and the effects of the practices of 180solutions on affiliates and affiliate program merchants.

The Republican National Committee affiliate program was initially set with automatic approval of affiliates, which is contrary to the accepted best practices in affiliate marketing.

In general, it is suggested to manaully approve all affiliates, so as to limit the risk to your brand and minimize the chance of fraud (though you’d have to be a nut to commit credit card fraud against the RNC).

Anyhow, the folks operating the affiliate program have flipped the switch to manual approval – smart move!

In the list of new advertisers on CJ, the newest of all is the Republican National Committee, who launched their program today.

Here’s a description of the program:

You can help build a better tomorrow for America by supporting the Republican National Committee! You can be a part of the team working with President Bush and a Republican Congress to fully enact our compassionate conservative agenda. We need your help to continue the advancement of the bold, responsible Bush/Republican agenda for a better tomorrow for every American. We cannot do it without the help of concerned citizens like you. We must give President Bush the support he needs to keep our country moving forward in a positive direction. Only you can help provide the resources needed to re-elect a Republican president and Congress. Your support is urgently needed. This program is to acquire online donations. You will receive 30% of each donation (capped at $300). Please note that search marketing is NOT allowed. Affiliates will NOT be paid for donations generated through search engine marketing.

This is certainly an interesting evolution of the affiliate marketing model. They are giving 30% of the donations to the affiliates. Could be a hefty commission.

And no messing around on the search engines – good luck policing that one, what with redirects, frames, etc.

While there are sure to be detractors here, I think this is a great thing – it could introduce affiliate marketing to some high traffic sites that otherwise only take CPMs (i.e. DrudgeReport.com) and haven’t given affiliate programs a shot.

So CJ is the home to the Republicans? Hmmmm… those LinkShare events seems to have an affinity for speakers of the Democrat persuasion. Will we be seeing an affiliate program for the DNC on LinkShare next week?

Cue dramatic music…

RNC uses the network based in Reagan’s California, while the DNC opts for the network in Hillary’s New York. Just speculation, but it sure would be entertaining.